


From Hong Kong, With Love

by PunkHazard



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Espionage, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-13
Updated: 2014-07-13
Packaged: 2018-02-08 17:58:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1950747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PunkHazard/pseuds/PunkHazard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On their assignments the triplets always, without fail: Have a drink in hand; Never actually drink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	From Hong Kong, With Love

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to [tumblr](http://apocalypsecanceled.tumblr.com/post/86177297093/pan-pacific-spy-agency-insp-from), based on archadianskies's Shatterdome Collective AU.

On their assignments the triplets always, without fail: Have a drink in hand; Never actually drink.

They're rarely in public together, almost never in the same city unless they're going covert (the exception to this being their home in Hong Kong, where they spend their downtime in a neighborhood that's as hostile to strangers as the three of them are). 

Wei Xiang has a reputation for forgetting names and faces, for being a cheery if somewhat absent-minded party animal (who doesn't, as it turns out, flush red when inebriated), who spends a whole lot of time in bed-- both figuratively and literally-- with scores of influential people. Those who've been allowed into the more intimate moments of his life learn that he has a passion for photography and portraiture-- things like scars and hands and other unique little marks on skin of particular interest. 

'None of it's very good,' he'll say sheepishly, fiddling with a starter DSLR (he uses Nikon, usually), 'but it helps me match up names and faces. I don't remember much of last night, you know!' 

* * *

All of it is a lie, of course. Jin has his target scoped out weeks before whatever fundraiser or party he's to attend, their habits memorized, their photos stored with a list of information gleaned from a quick scan of their online accounts. He taps every conversation and sends them to his brothers along with a dossier and several dozen recent pictures and identifying marks, so when Luke Minelli or Ariana Jane Helena Worthington cozy up to Cheung or Hu in the street, they'll know exactly what to say. Cheung and Hu do the same when they're called on elsewhere, but Jin has the most fun. 

That reputation for forgetfulness comes in handy when three people try to coordinate appearances, meetings, encounters. Sometimes a face doesn't quite match up with a name and Cheung will flash Hu's sheepish grin, duck his head in a gesture of apology. 

'Sorry! You know how I am with names.' 

Sometimes they do it even when they know exactly who's stopped them-- just to keep up the ruse. 

Early on, when someone spotted Cheung in Milan and a mutual acquaintance ran into Jin not twelve hours later in St. Petersburg even though Xiang (who's Hu, this time) has a fundraiser planned for the morning back home in Shanghai, they used the 'private jet' excuse so much it's still a running joke. But Cheung wrapped up his hit in Milan, Jin returned from Russia with a hard drive still warm from the server in his carry-on bag and Hu's party went off without a single hitch-- other than his wealthy guests poking fun at his wanderlust. 

They all play the airheaded princeling role like they were born to it; the story is that Wei Liu, heir to Hong Kong Steel (which deals in all kinds of trades and imports, really), grew up with his orphaned little cousin in Shanghai until his family finally struck it rich in Hong Kong. Xiang is a spoiled and pampered brat but a gifted negotiator, when the need arises. 

That's a cover too, though it had been Liu who'd picked them off the streets, trained them and then set them loose in the world of corporate espionage. How he managed to keep it quiet that there are in fact three of them is still a mystery to them, but they don't question it. 

Stacker Pentecost calls in a favor when negotiations with the Kaiju implode, and the triplets turn their attention from mining private computers for company secrets to wreaking havoc in locked-down mainframes of the Kaiju network (their 'hivemind'). 

* * *

Hu nearly gets himself killed when he's charged with keeping a Kaiju division head (a category IV) occupied while his brothers infiltrate his office, their skillsets somewhat better suited to B&E. But their mark'd had several encounters of the fashion-show-afterparty kind with Cheung before then (the eldest of the brothers worked out this man's affiliations while sifting through his belongings, as he's wont to do with anyone he ends up spending extended amounts of time with). Hu hadn't expected _escalation_ , considering they were in a fancy private lounge, but he'd stuck his hand down Hu's pants and-- 

well, he'd been expecting Cheung and even identical triplets have their differences. Kaiju division heads don't get where they are by being unobservant. 

'Codename Tentalus,' his brothers tell him later, once Pentecost finally arranges for the hospital to move Hu into the PPSA base. 'You did good, little brother.' 

Stacker's the only one who saw their whiteknuckled misery before they had leave to storm the med wing. 

Hu had played off his injuries as well as he could with a stab wound to his side and a body at his feet-- after all, no one would fault a young 'uninvolved' party for defending himself against a Kaiju operative. (Luckily, no one really thinks to question how a yuppie from Hong Kong managed to get the best of said Category IV.) 

But the Weis' assignments rarely take unexpected turns, careful as they are, and when Cheung and Jin finally see their brother, two days after they'd first received news of the incident but were unable to visit at the local hospital, Stacker leaves the room. It's suffocating-- palpable anxiety hidden under careless posturing flooding the room, both older triplets' expressions unbelievably soft while Hu teases them for worrying. 

* * *

Hu's healed in two months-- the triplets lay low in that time (can't be spotted out and about when their cover's supposed to be in a hospital), and Mako's on a break as well, a close call on her previous assignment leaving her grounded until the heat dies down. She's restless-- the Marshal rarely lets her off the proverbial leash-- but the Weis like their downtime, they're in the field more often than not. 

(Vengeance is like an open wound, Pentecost'd say to Mako. You cannot take that level of emotion with you into a hit. 

The triplets love repeating that to her, only in a teasing way instead of a teaching way so when she challenges them to spar, they might win on the points front, but they always walk away with deeper bruises.) 

The day after the Weis have been signed off to return to the field, they're still in Hong Kong. Liu had wiped their schedule of public appearances and functions for another month and there's nothing especially urgent on Pentecost's roster-- Mako has to consciously suppress her surge of jealous resentment when Cheung and Jin both heave a sigh of relief at this information. 

Hu catches the bitterness in her expression and he laughs. 'We're going out tonight,' he says, 'you should come with us.' 

It's a testament to their trust in her that Cheung hands over the keys to his wildly conspicuous metallic red Nissan Skyline and slides into the passenger seat, both brothers piling into the back. He directs her to a tailor they've known for years and she watches the three of them get fitted for new suits (to celebrate finally wrapping up the Tentalus operation). 

Then they drag her out for dinner, two movies, a leisurely cruise through the city, and when they finally pull into Liu's garage at nearly three in the morning, Jin claims a sleek black Honda Integra with red trim and Hu takes the banana-yellow Subaru WRX. 

* * *

'You know why the Marshal always asks us to drive?' Hu asks cheerfully, the four of them at the summit of a road along the coastline, pulled off to a flat parking area on the side. Jin's perched on the hood of his car, casually tossing his keys between his hands. 'We'd take you into the city to meet the crew,' he tells her, 'but you need some practice first.' 

'You should have a pretty good handle on my car by now,' Cheung says, clapping Mako on the shoulder, 'so don't embarrass me against my little brothers, okay?' 

'You're not serious,' Mako says, but if someone tried to take Cheung's keys away from her, she imagines that she'd probably kick them in the face. Jin has already taken the driver's seat of his ride and started the engine. 

'We're totally serious,' answers Hu, doing the same, 'just don't wreck and you'll be fine. 'Cause big bro will kill you.' 

'Hit the brakes if you start losing control,' Cheung says, one hand braced on the hood, the other running along the sleek edges of his car. 'Don't worry about your time, just watch what they do and try to copy it. If you see them swerve, don't even think about why, just do it. This road isn't always empty.' 

Cheung expects at least an apprehensive look, but Mako nods, eyes already on the road. She runs her tongue along the line of her teeth and revs the engine.


End file.
